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William Wragg: How far will Boris Johnson avoid a no-confidence vote?
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Parliament TV / dpa
In the struggle of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his political survival, one of his critics wants to testify to the police about the alleged blackmailing of party colleagues.
Conservative MP William Wragg plans to explain to the Metropolitan Police early next week how government officials are said to have been threatened and intimidated by publishing compromising material in the press.
That's what the politician told the daily newspaper Telegraph.
He wanted to leave the clarification to experts, said Wragg, who first voiced his allegations on Wednesday.
The UK government has said it will investigate the allegations if there is evidence.
Wragg is among those MPs from Johnson's own Tory party who are publicly calling for the Prime Minister's resignation.
So far, the police have not been involved in investigating the “Partygate” affair about lockdown parties at 10 Downing Street, the seat of government.
Instead, a government official is currently gathering the facts and interviewing those involved and witnesses.
The investigation is expected to be completed in the coming week.
Johnson has admitted to attending a gathering that violated the coronavirus rules his own government had enacted.
The prime minister recently defended himself by pointing out that he had assumed a working meeting - and nobody had pointed out the rule violations to him.
He also said that one had to wait for the officer's report.
Depending on the result of the investigation, it cannot be ruled out that the police could then become involved in the investigation themselves.
The chairman of a standards committee in London's House of Commons, Chris Bryant, told BBC Radio 4 that several MPs had told him that they had been threatened with the loss of public funds for their constituencies if they did not support Johnson.
That was "illegal," warned the opposition Labor politician.
No money for the new school in the constituency?
MP Christian Wakeford had already gone public with such a description last week.
He told the BBC he had been threatened with no money for a new school in his constituency if he voted "wrong" on a particular issue.
Wakeford left the Tories for Labor on Wednesday over disappointment with the Johnson government and Prime Minister.
According to the Times, Johnson has now tasked a team of confidants with securing support within his party's ranks in the event of a no-confidence vote.
According to reports, he himself wants to telephone the party from his country residence Checkers at the weekend in order to persuade his critics to change their minds.
According to the current status, 54 letters from government MPs who turn their backs on Johnson are needed in the London House of Commons in order to obtain a vote of confidence.
That corresponds to 15 percent of the 360 Conservative MPs.
In a secret ballot in the parliamentary group, the prime minister would then have to get at least 50 percent of the parliamentarians on his side in order to survive the vote.
It is unclear how many MEPs have submitted such letters so far.
mamk/dpa-AFX
